New figures appear to suggest the IT sector has so far held firm against the effects of the credit crunch.

The GfK IT Barometer survey shows more than £5 billion was spent on IT equipment in the first half of the year - an increase of £400 million on the same period last year, ComputerWeekly.com reports.

It finds consumer sales went up by 18 per cent, although corporate sales were up by only four per cent.

According to the news provider, Anthony Norman, business group director at GfK, said many businesses have shown greater care in their spending on IT services and products in view of the changing economic climate.

He commented: "We must ask just how long the IT sector's performance can continue to remain positive in the face of difficult financial times."

Last week Reuters reported that processor giant Intel believes there will still be high levels of demand for personal computers, despite the fairly widespread economic downturn.

The company has indicated optimism about the continuing success of the low-cost computer market and a future healthy demand for broadband wireless systems.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent)